Friday, April 29, 2016

Five things to be grateful for........Five on Friday

Happy Friday! Can you believe it is the end of the week and the end of April already? This year is flying by so fast, I am often several days behind in my head and am surprised when I see the actual date. It has been a tough week with lots of the kids I am working with not at their best, which means I was not either. Little Buddy has had some success on the potty, but won't tell me when he needs to go. He has not been eating and that is so frustrating as he loses weight so fast. I know they will eat when they are hungry, but with him I have to fight to get an ounce on him. It will all work out in the end I am sure, but for now it is not fun. Frustrations with my Dad's estate, and frustrations with my weight as I am taking medication for my headaches that makes me gain weight. So now that it is Friday I am trying to think positive.

Wednesday evening I looked on my porch to find a box addressed to me from the lovely Araingee of Araingee's Tangled Web. I was one of the very, very proud winners of her latest giveaway. I waited until yesterday to open it up, when I wasn't rushed and could take my time.

Look at all of these amazing treats. Araingee makes her own soap and it is beautiful. It smells beautiful, looks beautiful and was packaged in the perfect way. She made the sheep card which is so adorable it should be framed. And on top of the gorgeous soap there was yarn! Yes, yarn!

Elann Peruvian Baby Silk, it is so soft and yummy. There is enough yarn here to make a beautiful scarf. And you should smell it, it smells just like the soap Araingee made. Perfect I'd say.

Araingee is so gifted you have to pop in and visit her. She weaves, spins, makes cards and of course soap. She knits and even skates!!! Really I can't imagine a thing she can't do. Give her a visit and maybe you will be a winner in her next giveaway.

I know what you are thinking, there can't be more yarn coming into my house but there is. I was gifted a very thoughtful gift card from a friend who I have helped over the years. Her daughter suffered a bad concussion in high school and I worked with her relieving her intense headaches. Funny I can help with others headaches but not my own! I suggested some practitioners for her recently for her daughters health issues and they really helped. She wanted to thank me with yarn but had no idea what to buy so she gave me a gift card. If you know me I will lose that card in a second so I went off to the yarn store on my way home from work yesterday to buy something fun.

I have been watching the beautiful Amber of Making A Home knit the wonderful Harvest by tincanknits. It is a gorgeous sweater that would be so versatile to have in my limited wardrobe. Amber's is the palest lilac, it is a beauty and she looks amazing with it on. I decided that as I did not have enough worsted weight yarn in my stash to make this sweater that I would buy it with my gift. Berroco Remix is a perfect yarn to work with, and it will be light enough to wear here in Florida. Yarn is so expensive these days that I wanted to make a decent sweater with an affordable yarn, I think I found the perfect mix. Gift yarn doesn't count against your stash does it?

It is gardenia season at my house.

The most perfect flower ever, enough said.

This boy is slowing down. His hips and back are hurting him and he often stumbles. I have him on pain meds frequently just to help him along. He is still smiling, eating and loving his family so I am just going to enjoy every minute I have with him. Isn't he beautiful?

Other things to mention, Mr. 22 got his 34 page paper in on time even though his computer crashed just 40 minutes before it was due, when he got it going again his paper was in Chinese. Thankfully he listened to his Mother (me) who begged him to save it to a flash drive.

I am home alone this morning drinking tea and blogging after a one hour walk. See weight gain frustration above.

Mr soon to be 19 is doing well on his finals and has decided to go away to school next year. I have my wonderful friend Dee on high alert as she will be much closer to him than I will be. I am already missing him and he hasn't even left yet.

The weather is getting warmer but it is still lovely during the evening or early mornings.

Even a tough week can be made better by focusing on the positive for a few minutes. A special thanks to the wonderful Amy of Love Made My Home for hosting Five on Friday. If you want to join in the fun pop on over to Amy's blog. You can see her wonderful blog and her new podcast.

So happy for you that you won the gift box with all those goodies. It sounds like perfect timing after a rough week. The gardenias are beautiful, I can almost smell the scent. I can only imagine how lovely it would be to have them growing in my backyard. Isn't the weight thing a challenge? Nuff said. Have a wonderful weekend, Meredith! xo

Oh my! I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE your choice of yarn! That yarn is such a pretty color! Thanks for mentioning me. That was really sweet of you! And those gardenias! So lovely. I'm sorry that your son is going to be moving away for school. That's gotta be so hard. And thank goodness that your other son listened to you and backed up his paper. That would have been so horrible if he had lost all of his work. Oh my.

I enjoyed visiting your blog. I love the way you write and of course your crocheting is so inspiring. I'm a very humble crocheter, just like to keep my hands busy so do simple patterns. Hope your headache flies away.

Beautiful yarn and I know you will make some gorgeous things with it all! Gardenia's might be my favorite flower! I hope your headaches get better, that Little Buddy will tell you when he needs to go and that your sweet doggie keeps smiling (he is a beauty).

Glad to hear that things are going well for all your boys, I hope that they keep doing well. Sorry to hear that Max is feeling his age, I hope that summer will restore some spring to his step. Wonderful parcels you received in the post, bloggers are so kind aren't they. Hope that you are OK my dear. Hugs to yoThank you for joining Five On Friday, I hope you have a fun weekend! xxu.

What an amazing gift box you got from Araingee! That green silk is so yummy.. you lucky! And the plum colored yarn is also delightful. Gardenias are one of my favorite flowers.. the velvet petals and the aroma that is one of the most delightful in the world. What a gorgeous bouquet!!!! Where is your son going to college? I can so relate to a son going away. :-( Sorry about Max having pain. Our little guy is getting old but he still acts like a puppy. But he has a few warts and 2 tumors that the vet said not to worry about. But I do worry. I'm glad LB is doing better on the potty training.. that's such a difficult thing to teach. Have a lovely weekend. ((hugs)), Teresa :-)

My great grandmother had a huge gardenia on her porch that I used to adore. She would water it with an old fashioned milk bottle and I thought that was the coolest thing ever. I loved that glug, glug, glug. When it bloomed it filled the house with the most heavenly scent. I've tried many times to grow one without any luck. She made it look so easy.

I feel for your tough week. Many of my students were out of sorts this week, too, which didn't do anything good for my mood. It is hard to be cheerful and positive in the face of a lot of negativity. But we try!It was the perfect time for a giveaway gift. I'm glad you had something to boost your spirits!I have been looking at that sweater, too. Tin Cats patterns are so dependable and well-written. I think remix is a perfect yarn. Hmmm. Seems like there might be some on sale at my LYS, too.Would you believe I have never seen a real gardenia? It sure looks like the perfect flower.Here's hoping to an easier week next week!

Oh I envy you those beautiful fragrant flowers!! They are so beautiful!!! Don't worry about the weight- not for one minute. You are such a beautiful tall super slim woman - you have nothing to worry about. The important thing is that you get some relief from the headaches and when you are feeling better the weight issue will disappear too. Good news about your older boys, and the little guy will be ok- but it's always a worry when they are off their food. Love your giveaway treats and I love love that sweater and remix is such a great yarn! One of the Tin Can ladies is from BC - yay!!! Hope you have some knitting time this weekend.

Meredith I'm sorry it has been a rough week for you. If it's any consolation, I'm right there with you. It's been a doozy of a week. :-(. On a happier note that is a stunning box of goodies you received. I'm going to check out her blog tonight. The yarn, both in the gift and your choice for your sweater are so pretty. I look forward to seeing you work your magic and make beautiful things with it. Max is beautiful. Just beautiful. Our Chloe is 10 and I already find myself thinking of how long she'll be able to run like a puppy. They do make their way into your heart don't they?I hope your little guy starts eating more and consistently using the potty. We mom's are quite the worriers aren't we?I just told Alex about your son's paper in Chinese and he laughed and said you are a very wise Mom! Although Alex speaks and writes Chinese and Japanese fluently, I don't think he could have translated it quick enough for you! :-). Especially with the pain meds he's on right now.I hope you have an absolutely wonderful weekend Meredith.Blessings,Betsy

A lovely positive post to read. Despite your headaches, I'm glad you have plenty of little pleasures to lift your spirits. Yarn acquired with a gift card is definitely not stash enhancement, it's a reward for being a lovely person. Have a relaxing weekend Meredith and enjoy your new yarn.

You are right to focus on the beautiful and happy things when life is hectic and tiring. I hope you can get on top of your headaches. I rarely have a headache but if I do I am not myself and it must be so much worse for you. Max looks like a gentle giant, I bet he is really good with Little Buddy. Wishing you a happy peaceful weekend. xx

Such a beautiful package, a beautiful card too. My husband is on steroids at the moment and wants to eat more but his condition is worsened by gaining weight so I understand your issue. Little Buddy will get there in the end, all very tiring for you I know. Take care.

Thanks a lot for leaving a comment on my blog. I just had a look at yourt blog and I really like what you are doing. I can understand your exitement receiving yarn and being able to buy yarn. The yarn you got looks fabulous! The photo of your dog is wonderful, I know how you are feeling. Our dog is a senior, as well, and every day I am able to spend with her is precious. Viola

I hope you are able to find a way to relieve your headaches that allows you to cut back or stop that medicine. It's such a tough thing when a med is needed, but comes with a bunch of unwanted side effects.

Happy you won the giveaway that included yarn. And you were gifted a yarn card and bought plum colored yarn. Oh so pretty. Will pray that LB will start eating again. Max is handsome dog. Hard to watch him suffer. We went on a walk last eve even though we had bowled 2 games at fundraiser. Needed to walk out our soreness. My butt still hurts!! No grandbaby yet. Praying you feel better soon from constant headaches. Hugs!!

Hope your headaches get better. I used to take meds. for migraines . Not fun !Just printed out the patten for Harvest. Now I have to go visit Rosa in Odessa .Have a good weekend.ps: the only way I could potty train my 2 boys was to let them pee in a bottle & empty it out.

What lovely flowers from your garden. Your dear dog is so pretty if one can say that about a dog ;-) I hope your headache will be gone and you will feel so much better. It was so nice for your blogging friends to send you some giveaways and care packages. xx

What a lovely gift and card to receive in the post and how lovely that you waited to open it so you could savour every moment. It sounds as if you have had a difficult week so I hope the next one will be easier and I agree with you where has all that time gone I can't believe it is May already:)